The present invention relates to a point-of-interest (POI) icon display method. More particularly, the present invention relates to a POI icon display method for displaying a POI icon at the position of a point of interest on a map.
A navigation apparatus for performing vehicle guidance so that the driver may easily reach a desired location detects the position of the vehicle and reads map data for the area surrounding the vehicle position from a map storage medium, such as a CD-ROM or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk). Subsequently, in a map guide mode, a map and guidance routes are drawn on a display screen, and a vehicle position mark is drawn superimposed at a predetermined position on the map. Then, as the present position changes as the vehicle moves, the vehicle position mark on the screen is moved along the guidance route, or the map is scrolled with the vehicle position mark remaining fixed at a predetermined position so that the detailed map of the area surrounding the vehicle position can always be seen at a glance. In an arrow guide mode, guidance routes and intersecting roads are briefly displayed, and the traveling direction at the intersection is indicated by an arrow. Also, the distance to an intersection, the direction of a target location, the distance to the target location, etc., are displayed, and the traveling direction at the intersection is guided by voice instruction.
Such a navigation apparatus has functions for displaying, on a map, icons indicating POIs (POI icons), such as ATMs (Automatic Teller Machines), banks, gas stations, restaurants, hotels, parking lots, etc. FIG. 13 shows an example of a conventional display of POI icons in a city, in which POI icons of restaurants, hotels, and ATMs are displayed. However, there is a problem in that in a city, since there are numerous POIs, the roads on the map may be obscured by the icons.
The navigation apparatus displays POI (facilities) having large premises, such as parks, hospitals, and factories, using polygons, as shown in FIG. 14, and displays, within the polygon, a mark (POI icon) indicating the category of the POI along the road. When this POI icon is pointed to by a cursor and the enter key is pressed, the navigation apparatus displays detailed information about the selected POI. However, since the POI icon is displayed at an end of the polygon, it is difficult to see the POI icon, and moreover, when the POI icon is at an end of a polygon, it is difficult to point to the POI icon using the cursor, and there is a problem in that another nearby POI icon might be selected erroneously.